


That one time Marinette babysat a demon and got kidnapped into a TV Show

by Science_your_ass7



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya Ladybug AU, Episode: s02 Audimatrix | Prime Queen, F/M, Nino and Mari are bros, and have no idea how to deal with a kid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26424583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Science_your_ass7/pseuds/Science_your_ass7
Summary: You know the tale. Insert scenery: Paris, a pleasantly enough sunny day, and squealing children playing in the parc. Also an ancient, asian-looking dude, who decides to rid himself off of the two of the most powerful artifacts in existence by leaving them with two teenagers, hoping they will accept the challenge presented.Too bad, it didn‘t always work this way.(Or a quick snippet of a Marinette that has not nearly enough self-confidence to make up for her doubts.)
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have come to love Nino/Marinette friendship over my brief stay on AO3, but seeing as there is not nearly enough of it, I have decided to write some myself.
> 
> So, this is basically me, wanting to stop my cravings, and you (maybe) benefitting from it.

The classroom was quiet enough to seem abandoned of everything living. Mendeliev, eyes intent enough to make students shake out of their chairs in fear, took one lasting look at each of them and crossed her spindly arms. Marinette hardly even dared to breathe, feeling ghastly faint.

,,This will be a task for groups of two to present to me tomorrow,” another lingering sweep over the room and someone in the back of class not quite stifles a whimper. Not that she can blame him. ,,I well hope I must not repeat that your presentation on Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory of light could ruin your mark for another whole period,” their teacher pauses once as if surprised by a not so morbid thought, ,,or not so quite,”

Again silence drags on, and students begin to twitch around nervously obviously unsettled, when Mendeliev claps loud, causing almost everybody to flinch simultaneously, a feral grin of sadistic glee stretching her pointy face. Her disheveled hair, probably never brushed in a life time, only adds to the over all crazed look on her. ,,Begin now please,” she croons.

Immediately some snap into action, the either incredibly hopeful to survive (Rose, bless a kind soul) or the god-loved geniuses of their school, who excell in anything they touch (Adrien and Max, both probably not entirely human), while the rest is starting to think of things to do before they’ll die. Go sky-diving maybe, for Kim, who’s looking much too happy for the situation, or purchase half of Paris‘ clothing, in the case of Chloe, whose face is stuck between something akin to near-terror and half-arsed smugness. 

Marinette, on the other hand, not quite optimistic enough to hope, turns to her desk buddy, the unspoken question probably obviously bright in her eyes.

Nino, she finds is already looking back at her, perfectly mirroring her own pitiful expression of helplessness, and seeming to come to a quick conclusion, raises his hand for a fist bump. ,,If we go down, we go down together?” he asks, smiling despite himself.

Mendeliev may have turned her hot glare on her for it, but Marinette finds that she does not stammer quite that much as always when asked a question. Nino somehow can always make her laugh even when she is about to get lanced with a metal ruler and sacrificed in the names of science. 

Which when she thinks of it, she should train herself out of, because Mendeliev is still very much barmy and scary when staring into your soul, dissecting you mentally and glaring as if hoping to set you aflame with a thought.

________

,,Nino,”

Marinette pokes her unresponsive, unofficial and not yet legally adoptive brother with a huff, wishing she sat down next to him, so she could ram her elbow into his ribs. They have conquered a table in the dining hall in hopes to start on their school work, but ever since Nino checked his phone, he didn’t resurface still after twenty minutes. Which was strange, even for Nino, who ate with his phone, cried on his phone and slept with his headphones on, so he could listen to the music from his phone.

,,Hey, bro, _dude_ , we’ve got loads of homework to do, if you recall? Physics for example, literature, an essay in English, and also I don’t know, _physics for example_ ,” 

,,Mhm,” he merely mhm’s at her, eyes still glued to the bright screen.

She purses her lips at his non-answer and makes a grab for the object of his obsession, only for him to fluidly retract it out of her reach. He still doesn’t glance up, and Marinette considers how long a detention she’d get for launching herself at a classmate from across a table with a street-fighters-worthy battle cry. Probably not more than a two hours at most. If she’d be lucky that is, which she normally is not at all.

So, no jumping for now then. She’ll leave that part for when pulverizing said best friend in Ultimate Mecha Strike and non-subtly basking in her glory later after school.

Half-heartedly, she tried to steal his phone again, knowing he’s well versed in dodging her grabby fingers already after years of training, and decides to level up her tactics. Some subtly applied manipulation maybe? With a hint of a threat to spice it up?

,,Nino, I swear to you, pay attention to me this instant, or I’ll throw a crying fit right here and embarrass you when you’ll start wailing as well, because you’re a sentimental idiot and my loyal bro,”

Perfect.

His head of dark curls, hidden under the red of his cap, snaps up quick enough to cause some disorientation, maybe. He certainly is blinking rapidly enough, to make her suspect it.

,,You wouldn’t dare,” he gasps, mock insulted. His phone rests on the table now, screen down, hand on top and she fights hard not to let the victory show on her face.

She blinks back at him innocently, suppressing a grin. ,,Wouldn’t I?”

,,No,” he conters, gradually relaxing, because recognizing her farce now easily. ,,You wouldn’t because you hate being in the middle of public’s attention even more than I do, and that’s a hard one to top, dudette,”

,,Alright,” she allows and leans back, resting her legs on top of his for good measure. He copies her stance, stubborn as hell just like she, and frowns down at her as he kicks her feet off of his in some act of delayed vengeance. Without much care, she barely rolls her eyes at him and tucks them back. 

,,Alright,” Nino echoes, meeting her stare with one his. After several long moments, he picks up one his grapes, pops it into his mouth and chooses and holds out another one like the offer of peace that it is. She eats it, even if only for the acidic, sugary taste on her tongue, but waits for him to speak, knowing he will. 

,,Alright, we’ll meet at yours to do Physics and I’ll do most of the research, but,” he points his finger, pointing up. ,,But, you’ll do the shadowing on my pictures for art class and bring me my faves for two weeks,” 

She twists her mouth, partially for show, and also hoping to draw time to assess the stakes. His ,faves’, as he has affectionately named them, are the caramel, pecan and pistachio cookies, she had somehow ended up successfully baking for his thirteenth birthday first, and still he couldn’t be convinced to change his mind on them, no matter the choice on evidently divine sweets presented. 

For some reason, he has since then, choosen them to be his all time favorite snack and now, he pelts her on them whenever the occasion rises to do some quick and easy blackmail. It would annoy her maybe, the rudeness, if it wasn’t so damn flattering and so very sweetly Nino.

But in the end, not much time spent thinking because it’s Physics and she has like literally no choice, one of her treats, a slice of orange, wanders from her hand to his, and Nino grimaces at the overly sour sensation, but hardheadedly chews through it and rinses his mouth with some water afterwards to clean it. 

,,You’ve got yourself a deal, study buddy,“ she smiles across the table, holding out her palm up first. 

Nino grins, clapping on her hand with his darker one as per tradition, and picks up one of her pink gel pens. ,,Gimme that Physics work sheet you got there, Mari, this study buddy is about to save your whole fashion carrer,“

Some time later, Marinette has worked through a heavy text on literature in the eightenth century and dispaired spectaculary despite finishing it while Nino‘s attention switched from the tasks on Maxwell‘s delightful theory to the booming music blasting from his headphones and back all over again. At some point, she wandered from her bench to his and stole one of his ear phones, so she could listen to the music herself and try not to sleep in, while resting against Nino‘s hard and bony shoulder, that sometimes jerks when the music reaches one of his particular beloved phases.

Even if the beat was perhaps too loud and rapid to really relax under it and Nino’s shoulder bone was digging uncomfortably into her cheek, she still had a hard time not knocking out dead. She probably could have slept in to the sounds of her father‘s snoring or a rocket start, and wouldn‘t mind. It was the comfortable atmosphere of working in companionable silence, that was making her want to lie down somewhere and ditch classes in favor of taking a glorious nap.

Not that she could allow herself such luxury, she was a tolerable student at best, but still the possibility was undeniably there, lying on Nino‘s shoulder, in the warmth of his skin through the fabric, and she graciously snuggled into it with a hum.

,,Hey, sleepy head,” The body she was resting on, suddenly gave another jerk, shoulder shrugging and she whined her protest, hands coming up to hold her fleshy pillow still.

,,What,” she mumbles at him, knowing damn well, he won’t leave her alone until he got to tell what he wanted. He was too much like her in this; impatient and a nuisance and once again, she curses how well the shared childhood seemed to have adjusted them to each other. They may have had their fun with sharing their brain cells when it came to pranking their parents or speaking in mere glances over the kitchen table, but at times like these she could do very well without the split ownership.

Nino coughs suspiciously, and she doesn’t need to look to guess what kind of stupid face he’s doing at her. She can practically _feel_ the smugness of his grinning, polluting the air. It made her want to pinch his waist, _hard_.

,,Guess who’s staring at you again?”

Not quite managing to hide her sudden stiffening, she clamps down on the urge to turn to check herself. Nino may think he’s right (which he’s really _not_ no matter the so supposed evidence), but she won’t give him the satisfaction of reacting too. 

Marinette closes her eyes against the now obvious, tingling feeling of someone else’s eyes on her, and breathes. Nino’s arm comes up to embrace her waist, tucking her in further, and compliant, she accepts the apology in the shape of more warmth and the protective secureness of his hug, seeming to chase away her guilt. 

Because wherever local sunshine, Adrien Agreste goes, goes Alya Césaire, his best friend. And despite whatever bullshit she tells herself at sleepless nights, when the fear settles in much stronger, twisting her insides, she is not ready to face the girl, not yet.

Not when she can see the fatigue on her golden face, smell the lingering taste of cookies in the air, and knows just why exactly she always seems to be late to class.

She is a coward, yes, but she is just too weak to face the truth.

_______

Meanwhile on the other side of the hall:

,,Oh boy, _Adrien_ , could you please stop being a creep for a second and explain this formula to me?”

Alya’s voice rang loud enough to catch some curious glances left and right and ripping his eyes from the sadly beautiful, and heart wrenching sight of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, curling into the comfort of a hug, Adrien fights down the startled blush of embarrassment on his face.

,,Wha’,” he sputters. ,,I’m not a creep! I was merely looking at my classmates. Like,” his eyes fly and catch on a shock of flaming red, ,,Nathaniel! Don’t you think Nathaniel looks exceptionally dashing today?”

Alya rolls her eyes, while Nathaniel sitting obviously close enough to hear, spins his head around and turns a matching shade of red, squeaking. 

,,Uh hu, yeah sure, now explain the formula?”

His eyes wander again, as if magnetized by the sheer magnitude of her person, and he can’t help but sigh at the pure relaxation on Marinette’s face, easing the stress lines and tiny frowns at her mouth. Adrien can’t remember ever seeing her this relaxed, this _eased_ , and it lights something painful in his chest to realize just how tense she must always feel then to have the mere embrace of her friend, turn her blissfully calm. 

He knew that Marinette is uncomfortable in class, how could he not when all he ever could see was her, but this.. 

Is this what the real, unmasked Marinette looks like? This soothed, and vulnerable person?

,,Al, you don’t think that Marinette looks... really stressed sometimes?”

Alya groans out a low, pained breath and crosses her arms on the table. ,,Formula, Adrien, just explain it and I’ll listen to your mooning all you like,” she gestures almost pleadingly. ,,Just, one second, and I’ll be yours,”

,,Can you recall her ever smiling when not with Nino?” he asks, feeling something unsettled claw inside his throat. He tries to swallow against it and fails. ,,I mean, they both don’t really have any other friends, they’re a duo, like us, or,” he back-tracks quickly. ,,Well, not us _us_ maybe, because we’re a whooole different kind of hat, but do you think she’d maybe laugh if I’ll tell her some of my jokes? Even a little?”

Alya bangs her head against the table, drawing another round of curious eyes and curses ,,Oh my god, Adrien, I can’t believe you,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: wants to make Marinette sound like she and Nino are bros for life 
> 
> Also me: just adds a dude in every second they have a conversation and _snorts_


	2. Chapter 2

________ 2

The walk home passed with no particular complications. 

At the main entrance, Nino helped her dodge a furious looking Chloe, barking mad orders at a cowering Sabrina, by throwing his jacket over Marinette and dragging her away at full speed. It was effective sure, but served to ruin her hair completely and the rest of the time walking, Nino spend it, laughing at her disgruntled face, and trying to sidestep her flying hands, where she was hitting him for his sheer audacity.

Nothing new here.

When they stepped in through the bakery’s door, immediately the smell of fresh baked bread hit them and her Maman looked up with a smile at the sound of the bell. ,,Good day?” she asked, stepping forward to kiss them both on the cheek. 

Marinette beamed brightly, smooching her mother’s cheek right back. ,,Yep, Physics class was very enlightening and speaking of, we have lots of work to do, so we’ll head right up, if that’s alright,”

Nino snickered behind his hand, and non too subtly, she elbowed his side.

Sabine took a look between the both of them, and shook her head fondly. ,,Honestly you two. I left you lunch in the oven, so please eat, and don’t forget that Tom and I have to leave for a few hours, two at most, in the evening for some errands. We’ll be back in no time, promise,”

,,No worries, Maman. We can handle a few hours alone,” Marinette said breezily and Nino throws a much-too-casual-arm around her shoulders, nodding along. 

Her mother raises a critical eyebrow at both their perfectly innocent faces. ,,We’ll see about that,”

After that, the evening went much like normal. They played a few glorious rounds of UMS, where she eliminated character after character like a trained assassin, ate the casserole, still warm from being inside the oven, and went up to her room to start on the work for their physics presentation. Dreadful in anything physics-related, she focused all her might on creating the most colorful and specific scientific poster, she had ever seen, and Nino, like he promised to, did all the vile information research and passed it on to her, so she could write down the data. 

They worked in silence and got along perfectly and after not much over two hours, they were almost half-finished and only had to finish writing the flashcards and divide the parts between them equally. 

It was all very perfect.

...Until it was not.

,,Marinette, sweetie, Nadia is here!”

Nino’s head where it had been previously leaning over his notes, checking for mistakes, snapped around to stare at her in surprise. ,,Nadia?” he asks curiously and she wants to cry and laugh hysterically at once, she’s not sure.

,,Shamack, Nadia Shamack,” she whispers, and clasps her hands flat over her face, so she could hide her burning in shame face. No honestly all jokes aside, why does she have to be such a dumbass? Surely that can’t be normal?

Nino sounds cautious enough, but she knows he must be burning bright with curiosity inside. ,,Dudette, why is Nadia Shamack, from TV, coming to your house?”

Ever so slowly, Marinette slips her hands away from her red face, and turns her incredibly shameful and embarrassed stare on her best friend, who never once failed her when she needed him. He is there to comfort her, and grounds her when she starts to slip away on her much-too-big-thoughts, so in short, he is the best friend she could ever wish for. 

Point. Factually proven.

She however is the worst person to be alive. 

,,To bring Manon,” she whispers barely audibly, still in numb shock, just before the door to her room flies open and a blur of colors crashes into her.

_________

Meanwhile across a certain city of love:

,,Do you think we should dress up maybe?”

Alya looks up from where she was doing her homework, lying on her stomach on their favorite rooftop and frowns at her leather-clad partner quizzically. ,,Whatever for?”

Adrien‘s black tail-like belt shifts absently across the cold stone and she watches it for a second, still just as fascinated by the sight as she was at thirteen-years-old, before focusing on the quiet anticipation on his face. ,,I mean we‘ll be on TV. Live TV more importantly. Loads of people will be there just to see us and I think that‘s a mile stone, we should celebrate accordingly,“

Alya raises a brown brow at her musing friend, warming up to the idea much quicker than she‘d ever admit. Somewhere deep inside her, there remains the sliver of thirteen-year-old Alya, who loves and collects anything Superhero-related and right now, she‘s squealing at the idea of dressing up epicaly to impress their audience.

But she‘s a Superhero herself now, and somehow the notion that would have excited her at thirteen now only seems slightly... childish. 

Strangely enough, the thought saddens her more than it should, considering that being Ladybird brings her more enjoyment than any Cosplay or Comic ever could.

,,And that will be by dressing up when we‘re quite literally in Supersuits and actual Superheroes?“ She can‘t quite withhold the bitter sceptisism from her voice and guessing by Adrien‘s narrowed eyes, he noticed it too.

,,Come on, Al, don‘t be a bore. What do you‘ve got to lose?“

That is the problem, she wants to snap, she‘s got nothing to lose and still she doesn‘t want to. Did she really grow up that fast that even a little silliness can‘t entertain her anymore?

She feels suddenly inexplicably old, much older than according to her body, and she can’t help but lock her jaw, deciding to just try, just do it. Maybe it won‘t be as bad as she thought. Maybe that‘s just her uneasiness for the new generally speaking.

Alya smiles at Adrien Agreste, who in his transformed state looks different but not enough to not make her see _him_ and his sometimes almost too eager happiness at the world, and stands up. 

,,Nothing, I‘ve got nothing to lose,“ she lifts her chin in defiance and curls a fist, as if preparing herself for a fight that is sure about to come. ,,Let‘s do it,“

________

Marinette is pacing along the length of their kitchen, mutttering little chinese curses under her breath, that her mother would be appaled to hear. She raises her hand to fiddle with her hair for a moment, then clasps her palms together to rub them nervously until she lifts one again to bite down on her fist to stiffle her hysterical laughter.

Oh.

Mon _dieu_

She is very much fucked.

Nino grabbing her by her shoulders, stops her serious pacing, and she looks up at his familiar, amber eyes in quiet hopefulness. He sighs.

,,Okay, sis, my dude, let‘s just leave aside that you quite literally forgot about the child, you promised to babysit, alright?“

She gulps heavily at the reminder, but nods. Nino rubs his chin in consideration, leaning against the stove.

,,How good are you with the kid?“

Marinette grimaces down at the floor, wanting to sink into it right this second. Maybe a quick death would be more compassionate than whatever kind of joke this is. Nino hums curiously at her reaction. ,,That bad, huh?“

,,What? No,“ she shakes her head. ,,Or well, I mean maybe? I‘ve only met her a few times, but she seems to like me I think?“

Nino stares at her, mouth slightly agape and round. In any other situation, it would have been funny, his face, but well, just not now. She‘s still in mild hysterics here. ,,You don‘t know her at all? That’s her first time here?“

,,Kinda?“ she admits sheepishly and winces when Nino‘s shoulders start shaking in disbelieving laughter. He‘s literally clutching his stomach and his eyes are shut tight. It looks more pained than anything.

,,Oh, fuck, Mari,“ he gasps out. ,,that‘s so fucking bad,“

Ah really? ,,It is?“

,,So bad, so so bad,“ He‘s laughing for real now, doubling over in quick heaves and Marinette can‘t help but join him a little despite her misery. His laughter has always been very infectious and, against her will, she giggles quietly.

,,Dudette, it was nice knowing you,“ Nino holds out his fist for their iconic fist bump and gingerly, she knocks her tinier one against his.

,,Likewise, my dude, likewise,“

_______ 

Manon in short is a precious, little beast.

She runs about touching paintings, picture frames, presses her face into the glass of the oven and bounces on their couch, still in shoes. They sprint after her, trying to catch her, prevent her from either breaking anything or breaking a limb herself, and thus it is no big surprise when they both meet in the kitchen, both heavily out of breath and panting and immediately fall into each other in their hurry to sit down. 

Marinette pushes some stray elbow from her face and blows her own astray hair from her eyes, putting in the effort to sit up. ,,We need a battle plan,“ is the first thing to leave her mouth when she recovered enough to speak and looking back, the conclusion is very sensible she thinks.

Nino huffs a tired laugh at her shoulder and mutters, ,,I‘m listening,“

,,We need to tire her out,“ she says, but obviously it‘s easier said than done. From what she saw, Manon seems to have the energy to survive on giggles alone. ,,Or at least occupy her enough so she can‘t go about breaking anything,“

,,Mmhm,“ Nino agrees incoherently, soaking in the warmth of her neck. 

She pokes his temple, half-amused and exasperated. ,,How dare you not be a god at this? You have a little brother and Chris, I know, is no less energetic than this frenzy ball of energy,“

Nino grumbles as he blinks an irritiated eye open to glare at her. ,,Dude, Chris, I can calm with a video game or a game on my phone at most. This monster however,“ he snorts into her shirt. ,,I‘m not desperate enough to murder my phone for this. She‘s all yours,“

,,Oh wow, thanks, _bestie_ ,“ she retorts sarcastically and he in turn pinches her arm, causing her to yelp out in mild pain. She raises a hand herself, fully prepared to pay him back, when there comes a loud crash from the direction of the living room.

Both their heads snap around with two similar agonized groans at the squeaky ,,Oops,“ following and pick themselves up for a round two.

It was leading up to be a _very_ long night for the both of them.

_______

Fully despaired after not more than ten minutes, they went about to built a plan.

Not a great plan perhaps, because their nemesis/enemy is a kid and the most easiest ways to full victory can be immediately crossed out as too vindictive, but a plan nonetheless.

Nino, as he brought her her bowl of ice cream, and then eating his, tries to introduce her to the brains of a kid. ,,They all have a weak spot,“ he mumbles as they both harvest on strawberry ice cream and keep a watchful eye on a Manon, that is suspiciously non-destructive as she colors pages of white paper in wide, undefinable strokes of red.

From the fact, that he is still just as batshit scared as she, it is obvious that he has not yet found Manon‘s. Nonetheless, ,,Any guesses?“

,,Sweets, I guess,“ he shrugs a little too stiffly.

She spares him fleeting glance and narrows her eyes at the false calmness she finds there. ,,I‘m not sacrificing myself for your experiments, Nino,“

,,You weren’t supposed to, so of course not,“ Nino says, blinking blankly, before they both face forward once again, eating.

Then, ,,I‘ll do the rest of our project alone,“

Marinette hums curiously, but shakes her head. ,,Tempting, but no. You‘re not ruining my beautiful poster,“

,,A week of wearing your designs,“

,,Do two weeks, your cap for a day and count me in,“

She grins, knowing how much Nino despairs with her love for stealing his clothes, but having no choice nonetheless, and shakes his hand all formal when he answers with, ,,Mademoiselle, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you,“

No less despaired but now with a plan, they go on eating spoons of ice cream, watching the quietly ticking bomb that is a scribbling Manon, and then get down to work.

First, they raid the kitchen.

Marinette ducks her head into a shelf, eyes searching and hands shoving, when she hears ,,Wine gummies?“

,,Top shelf on the right,“ she calls back, thinking she sees a package of jafa cakes in the very back and goes to dig it out.

Lots of impatient rustling and guessing by the wild curses, the sound of Nino probably having hit his head against the kitchen cabinet, before, ,,Anything with Chocolate?“

Marinette resurfaces successful with the jafa cakes and looks over to Nino, who‘s frowning at the wine gummies, probably checking if the minimum durabilty has already expired, ,,What kind of Chocolate?“ she asks.

,,Milk chocolate would be best. Nougat, nuts and white should work just as well,“ he explains, putting the gummies aside. ,,But most kids prefer milk,“

She shakes her head. ,,What discrimination,“

,,Yes, unbelievable. Now, where did your mum hide all the chocolate to?“

,,Uhm,“ she purses her lips in thought, turning over the cakes in her hands. ,,It’s not in lowest shelf next to the fridge?“

,,Nope, I already checked there, and in the top as well,“

Marinette grimaces. ,,Then I have no clue, maybe we‘re out of chocolate?“

,,Your house out of chocolate?“ Nino says incredulously, crossing his arms and staring down at her over the rim of his glasses. ,,Highly doubt it,“

,,It can happen!“ she laughs and picks herself up from the ground. ,,Let me see,“ she opens a few shelves and grovels through them herself while Nino makes a curious noise behind of her.

,,We can work without it. Do you have some chocolate cookies or chocolate treats instead?“ he asks and pushes her aside by her shoulder. 

She raises her brows. ,,Yes, in the bakery, downstairs,“

,,Would you mind terribly fetching a few?“ he drawls out, and she pokes his shoulder, rolling her eyes with a secret smile.

,,Don‘t you dare die on me dude, while I‘m away,“ she threatens. ,,I‘d like to dress you when you’re alive to see it,“

Nino salutes at her as she goes off to get the treats from downstairs and she laughing at him, of course doesn‘t notice the end of the stairs. So yes, in short she trips. And Nino, glorious creature he was born as, comes running down to help her not almost die again.

So, turns out, they both fetched the cookies in the end.

__________

,,Ready?“ Nino whispers at her and careful to not trip over the sofa cushion on the floor in a fashion much like herself, she nods, cradling the bowl of sweets to her chest. 

They both step out into the battle field as quietly as possible and immediately a tiny frame launches itself at them. Marinette shrieks out in surprise, bowl almost flying when a giggling Manon attaches herself to her leg. Nino only barely catches her before she could overbalance and make closer acquaintances with the carpet, and groans. 

,,Mari?“

She shakes the body part plus squealing child, and seeing that nothing can be done without growing too handsy, she sighs a ,,yes?“

,,The plan?“

,,Oh!“ she perks up and throws a grateful look at her not-yet-adopted brother, and lifts her leg to catch the eye of the giggling child hanging from her foot. ,,We are proposing a truce,“

,,More like a bargain,“

,,A bargain yes,“

Manon grins a toothy smile at them, hanging upside down. ,,What‘s a bargain?“

,,A bargain is when people trade things to come to a mutual agreement,“ Marinette supplies helpfully and then laughs at the resulting face Nino makes.

,,What means,“ he slowly steals the bowl of sweets from her hands and kneels to adress Manon, ,,that you can have all these sweets if you can promise to behave yourself,“

Manon‘s curious little eyes dart between their two twin expressions of barely restrained hopefulness and then she smiles content still, shaking her head, her pigtails hitting her rosy cheeks at the movement. 

,,No?“ Nino asks, and she can pinpoint the exact second the hope left him and went to another person on earth instead. She barely resists patting his back in sympathy, knowing how he hates being pitied in front of strangers, even if they so happen to be barely five years old and about as tall as the palm tree in the living room. 

,,No,“ Manon says and rubs her face into the pant of the leg she‘s still clutching to, suddenly inexplicably shy.

Nino sits down on the floor fully, rubbing his face in silent frustration, and now Marinette clears her throat, and when he looks up at her, non-subtly points to her still very much vacated leg. 

He raises his brows with a small amused curve to his lips. She huffs at him and shakes her foot, resulting in another bout of giggles from the kid strangling it with could-only-be meta-human strength, and demands with no small sliver of embarrassment, ,,Help me please?“

Nino only snorts at her. (Traitor)

She reins in the wish to laugh herself and only says with the most pitiful face she can muster, ,,Plan A failed, yes, but we can still try the murder of a poor, innocent phone?“

,,My phone,“ Nino stresses, standing up and grabbing her shoulder to guide her lumping to a stool. Manon is having a field day, giggling and shrieking at the movement and Marinette has half of a heart to smile at her obvious delight. ,,You mean _my_ phone, don‘t deny it,“ 

Marinette falls into the stool with a quiet laugh. ,,And once again, my bro, you‘re damn right,“

_______

,,How did you do that?“ Marinette hisses the second, she returned from her room where she got changed into her fluffy, pink pyjamas after her last clothes had been sprayed in nothing that belonged on it.

The living room, previously in a state of disarray, seems to look like it did this morning, all clean and not messed up, and the floor, which had been plastered with loads and loads of attempted scribbles, was now near spot-less. 

That was not what caught her astonishment though, no, right there sitting on the carpet was a non-running, not-yet-squealing Manon drinking from a cup and humming gently to herself, her eyes glued to the screen of the TV.

It was quite frankly almost a scary sight, seeing the kid so still all of sudden after spending at least a half of an hour chasing her, thus why she decided to voice her concerns to the boy, who was seeming to lounge on a kitchen stool without a care in the world, scrolling away on his phone.

Nino, apparently a secret decendant of God, sends her a smug grin, tapping on his cap. ,,Trader‘s Secret,“

She rolls her eyes at him. ,,Oh sod off, and what is she even drinking? And more importantly, Nino, how did you even get her to _drink_ anything? She was near-tears from only a spoon of joghurt a few minutes ago!“

,,I made her fruit tea,“ The way his grin stretches even wider at her blatant confusion makes her want to smack him with his own cap and not one to suffer long, she does just that: steal his cap and give him a fine treatment with it. He squirms away, laughing.

,,We don‘t have any fruit tea! I checked!“ And check she did after Manon confessed to loving this kind of drink. She sorted through every package of tea bags and grubbed through their endless collection of green teas, but no, no fruit tea there.

But apparently there was? And Nino found it?

,,I boiled some gatorade. Tastes much the same, I checked,“

Marinette can‘t help but laugh at him. ,,Dude, her teeth will rot and die,“

,,And come to haunt me I‘m sure,“ he drawls out sarcastically.

,,Oh, you‘d deserve it for withholding this crucial information. I‘m an only child, you have to tutor me on these facts! I could have never known that little children apparently like fruit tea of all things!“ she complains, falling onto the seat beside his and pouting. ,,Fruit tea, Nino! My gran drinks fruit tea and she says it‘s only because her mouth starts tasting strange otherwise,“

Nino‘s laughter rings loud over her miffed voice and even drowns out the sounds of the TV playing from across the hall. And still it makes a ghost of smile flit over her face for a brief second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I stand firmly with the fact that Marinette would be super awkward with children, because as an only child and a really timid girl, she barely got enough contact with those.
> 
> Nino may have more experience (as seen when talking to Manon) but he’s convinced that little brothers apparently work differently than girls thus his first hesistant approaches.
> 
> Also, this was written much too smoothly, because I’m scared of little children and if you know how to handle them, good on you, because I damn well don’t!


End file.
